Sunday, September 29, 2013

I have decided that going through child birth more often may be worth it if for no other reason than both sides of our family came to visit us! It was only the second time in 10 years that our parents had seen each other (the other time was 5 years ago in Minnesota at our wedding). Pretty much, we had a blast around here! Per practice of the midwifery center that I delivered at I was pretty much on bed-rest. Even though I had Cai completely naturally and with no tears I was still banned from walking around the block and picking up anything (including Eli) for 10-14 days. Ummmm....I was going CRAZY! I understand completely that they want me to give my body time to heal, but I was going stir crazy in our apartment (next time around our place needs at least a yard and maybe even a pool). To keep me sane the family made me get out and pushed me around in a wheelchair everywhere we went (so for all of you that want to know we now know where to get the wheelchairs and whether they are free/need to rent at several many places in Norfolk including the mall, zoo, and Target...haha!). We even made it to the beach for all of the landlocked members of the family.

It was such a joy to have our family here! They are hysterical and crazy...

...but the absolute best! What a huge help to have them all here and if nothing else the perfect distraction for Eli to help him transition into his role as a big brother. There aren't enough words out there to express just how much I love our family and the blessing it was to my heart to see them holding Micaiah and loving on Eli.

So many memories! So many pictures! I don't even know where to start!!! I decided the best place to start is from the beginning (dark iphone pics and all!) with a quick post of our hospital stay.

My last post was the birth story and the more I think about that day the more certain events become more prominent in my memory and others fade. Don't get me wrong, even though the memory of pain is starting to "fade" I know for a fact that I do not want to go through that again (no that does not mean we aren't planning on having other babies...yes it does mean that I can wait a long while before going through it again and that I am VERY thankful you only give birth to a baby once). The memories that are starting to stick out more and more are those that include the love and care that was showered on us before, during, and after Cai came into the world. Like the huge blessing it was that Val and Jimmy watched Eli for us for 2 days! That Jessica came and took pictures of our little family while we were in the hospital. The sweet visits from friends that are dear to my heart who put up with listening to me crazily tell them my birth story. Even the care that we received while in the hospital (Love the midwifery center!!! We had the most wonderful nurse and my midwife was awesome! She even sat in the room knitting just to keep an eye on us!).

There are two memories that surprise me. The water-birth...I will say it over and over again, I did not plan on having a water birth, but I really loved it. Such an amazing experience. I haven't decided if I liked it so much because I was in the water or because Cai came so soon after I got in the water. The other memory is that a harpist came and with our permission sat in our postpartum room and played lullabies for us. She purposefully picked a song that Eli would know so he could hear it before he had to leave and then continued to play for Cai and me as we sat on the bed cuddling. The last song she played for us was "Jesus Loves Me." Maybe it was the hormones, but I sat there tears streaming down my face as I looked down at Cai. David and I pray that our boys will know the Lord and love Him with all their heart. I don't know if that harpist will ever know how much she blessed my heart.

Alright, picture time...

The morning I wasn't so sure I was actually in labor...guess what...I was! haha (jokes on me!)

Our first nights with this little man

Hospital Entertainment...Love how creative these two are! (More like trying to get Eli's energy out)

Thursday, September 26, 2013

I am taking a pause... I have so many pictures and stories I
want to blog about with all the changes that have happened in our little
family. But, before I can post any of those I have to stop and do this one
first.

This morning my brother sent me the link that I am going to
post below. As I am watching it I find myself leaning against the door frame of
our bathroom with tears running down my checks. It was one of those mornings
where I found myself running in a hundred different directions just trying to
keep the mess in the house to a minimum. The pile of laundry in our room was
growing every time I passed it; our bed was not made but instead was dressed
with diapers and burp clothes. The dishes from breakfast were still out, the TV
was on to entertain e (yes…I am that mom that uses the TV!) so I could hide Cai
in the closet in our bathroom with me and quick take a shower. It was one of
those mornings where I was trying to find something to put on thinking the
whole time in the back of my mind that nothing fits this post-pregnancy body. As
I stood there with wet hair, no make-up, and a tired look on my face I felt
loved and empowered, still hormonal, but renewed. It also made me stop and
count my blessings instead of beating myself up about the things (they are just
things!) that I can’t seem to get done. Even as I write this a sweet little boy
has crawled into my lap and showered me with love and hugs.

Here is the link…I don’t normally post links on my blog…but
this one is worth your time.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

I have been wanting to write down Micaiah’s birth story for
the last several many weeks before I forget everything (let’s be honest…I
probably have already forgotten half…and the other half seems like it is a
garbled mess in my head). It seems like everything was different this time
around. Thankfully, although everything was different, as with e, pregnancy was
great and fairly easy (very thankful!), but as I said completely different. Many
times I was told and even said to myself that I am glad we found out we were
going to have a boy otherwise I would have thought we were having a girl! With
e my hair was awesome and my nails got hard. With Cai my hair was (and still
is) a losing battle and the nails were like butter. With e I was pretty big and
for some reason Cai tucked himself so close to my spine that I didn’t fit into
my maternity clothes from last time around. With e I was only able to run until
I was 34 weeks pregnant and with Cai I was still running 2 miles (I know that
isn’t that far, but I’ll take it) at 38 weeks. There were enough differences
that I should have known that labor was also going to be completely
different!!! I should have seen the warning signs!

For those of you who have heard me tell my Eli birth story
you have heard me rave about hypnobaby. I love hypnobaby! (And for the record
still do!) It is a form of deep relaxation and it worked great with e. My water
broke at 0300 with e, we were at the hospital just after 0400, I laid in bed,
did my hynpbaby, David thought I was sleeping most of the time, started pushing
around 1250 and e was in my arms at 1332. It was as wonderful of a natural
labor that I could ask for apart from the tearing. Since labor went that well
for me the first time I figured I had this in the bag! This time around I would
go in with more personal experience (even though I did OB it is a whole other
ballgame being the one in labor!), I started practicing hypnobaby during my 2nd
trimester, I was going to be delivering at a birth center with amazing midwives…I
was even praying that my water would break during the night like it did with e
and I would pop this baby out in no time. Ha! HAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! Man was I so
wrong!!!

Thursday morning, August 22, I woke up at 0700. I had gone
to bed knowing that I was getting close to having this baby. I could feel him
dropping and actually if you had talked to me the previous week you heard all
about how everyday it felt like Cai had dropped even lower. I had a towel by my
bed in case my water broke, the bags pretty much ready to go, a plan of action
for where to take e mostly in place (it was a little up in the air since my go
to girls were/are also pregnant, one of which was due at the same time as me),
and was trusting that God would bring this baby into our arms in His perfect
timing. Ok, so back to Thursday morning. I woke up and almost immediately had a
“wave” of GI discomfort. I remember thinking to myself that it was a little odd
and followed the thought by texting Anna and Val (my go to girls for helping me
take care of e). I got up and told myself that I probably wasn’t in labor (hadn’t
experienced labor without my water having broken) and that I should use the
bathroom, get some food, and distract myself. Before I knew it I was counting.
Still not being convinced this was it, but knowing I was 39 weeks pregnant I
call David at work. If you have ever called a ship you know what the
conversation sounds like, but for those of you who haven’t you don’t call your
spouse directly (his phone doesn’t get signal and half the time you don’t know
where he is so you call the quarter deck or in our case central control).

(Ring)

Load dispatcher (LD): “USS Enterprise. Load dispatcher speaking.
How may I help you Sir or Ma’am?”

Me: Hi, may I speak with LT Bundy?

LD: Are you calling from off the ship?

Me: Yes I am.

LD: Are you his wife?

Me: Yes

LD: Is there a message I can get to him for you?

Me: Yes, well…I don’t want to burden you with all the
details…but…I think I might be in labor…but I’m not sure and just wanted to
give him the heads up.

LD: Oh, I completely understand Ma’am (with a sense of
urgency in his voice)! My wife is pregnant, too!

Thankfully David has a great command and I called early
enough in the morning that he was able to have someone cover for him (thank you
to the poor souls that had to cover his half duty!!!!). I distracted myself by getting the final
details taken care of around the house as I waited for David to come home, Val
and Jimmy came and picked up e (thank you thank you thank you!!!) and we
hurried up and got ready to go to the midwifery center. Normally I wouldn’t
have been in such a hurry, especially since my water hadn’t broken, to get to
the hospital, but this time around I was lucky enough to be GBS pos. (Yay me!
NOT! But so it goes!) I was so afraid that I would progress quicker with Cai
than with e and wanted to make sure I would get to the hospital in time to get
my antibiotics (abx). We arrived at the hospital a little after 1100. I was far
enough into labor that I had to stop and sway through contractions, but let’s
be honest, for those of us who have gone through labor we know it gets a lot
worse. So I was doing pretty good at this point. I loved hearing everyone ask
David if I wanted a wheelchair. I specifically told him in the car that I
needed to walk, so he kindly told each of them (and there were several who
asked), that I really was ok and really wanted to walk. We walked upstairs, and
the fun began. At this point I was 4 cm, 80%, +1. Not too bad. After the
initial vitals and baby check I was free to do as I pleased (love the
midwives!) and am so thankful that I was able to move around without cords or
monitors because let me tell you, lying down this time around was a no go! The
first question almost everyone that has heard my e birth story asks is, “Did
hypnobaby work?” My answer…NO! I have a feeling it didn’t work because I was
far enough into labor that I was restless. I felt like I had to be continually
moving and I was having lots more pressure pain this time. Again, God knew I
needed to be at the midwifery center. I had an amazing nurse, a wonderful
midwife, and David with me. Around 1500 I started asking for my water to be
broken. I could feel my body stalling, but the pain was getting worse. David
was a great sport in helping me change up the pain management from standing
over the sink, to sitting on the labor ball, to pushing every pressure point in
my body, to listening to my moans of please stop I need to do something
different. (Love you, David!) I was given my second dose of abx and as soon as
it was infused they were ready to break my water (bless them!!!). The midwife
broke it at 1620 and as I lay on the bed for the next 2 contractions (they have
to make sure baby is still ok with the monitors) I felt like I could have been
the lady strapped to the bed in the old movies screaming bloody murder with
each contraction. I wanted to crawl out of my skin so badly and couldn’t stand
up fast enough! Thankfully I was able to tell myself, now that my water was
broken, that I could only be in labor for 24 more hours…so glad I didn’t have
to wait that long. When I got off the bed I was asking to get in the tub, but
by policy they prefer you to be dilated to 6. Oh, that’s right…right before the
midwife broke my water she said I was at 4 cm, 80% (sound familiar…I was
stalling), but was now +2. She actually joked that I was going to have the baby
with my uterus still around him. Haha!

Now the next part of my tale is all props to the midwife.
For some reason Cai’s head wasn’t in the position it needed to be in. He was
facing the right direction, but wanted to come out with the top of his head first
vs the crown of his head. Thankfully the midwife knew exactly what to do and
when I said that I needed a new distraction she lead me straight to a pair of
chairs she had rigged up for some squatting technique that I am sure made me
look hysterical and put my husband through a full body work out as I hung on
him during each contraction (he didn’t work hard enough last time around with e
so I was just making sure he did his husbandly duties this time) to get Cai to
come down correctly. The set up was working, but at 1740 I was begging for the
tub again. (Seriously, the tub is so tempting because it is a huge massive pool
right in the middle of the room calling your name and it sounded wonderful). Of
course I had to get checked again to make sure I was progressing enough to get
in the pool. Rerun image of screaming woman on bed again!!! (I am still
thanking the Lord that I was at the midwifery center with Cai and in a regular
LD with e and not the other way around). Progress report: I was an 8! Bring on
the pool!!! I get in the pool and mentally I am shot! After doing the chair set
up while hanging on David I had so many hormone shifts, had been expending so
much energy, and had lost so much water weight through sweat that I was
mentally gone. My nurse and midwife, however, were all there and were the answer
to my prayers. It amazes me how a woman’s body knows what to do and it did.
Before I knew it my nurse was telling me the midwife was suiting up for
delivery. My thought, “You are kidding! Already? I still have a really long way
to go before this baby comes.” I will spare the details (if you want them all
call me and I will give them to you), but within a couple minutes the midwife
was coaching me on how to push. I can hear her voice, “Push.” I stop pushing
and told her, “I’m scared to push. Last time I pushed too fast. They didn’t
stop me and I tore. So I will listen to what you tell me to do.” Her reply, “Then
push!” haha! The next thing I knew he was sitting on my chest with two big
bright blue eyes staring straight at me. I was overwhelmed! Overwhelmed that I just
had our baby in the tub (had not planned on that because my hypnobaby was going
to work and I was going to have him on the bed). Overwhelmed that my prayers
were finally answered and the pain had stopped (knowing that I had so many
people praying for me was what got me through). Overwhelmed that I had such an
amazing husband that helped me through every minute of this labor. Overwhelmed
by the wonderful care from the staff. Overwhelmed that I was holding our second
child.

More stories to come, but for now, let us introduce you to
Micaiah James Bundy. Born August 22, 2013 at 1815. 7 lbs. 7 oz. 21 inches long.
Love this little boy! He is perfect for our family!

About Me

Who are we...two madly in love individuals who are trying to keep up with the wonderful blogs that my sister-in-laws have. We finally joined the group and have a two handsome boys that keeps us on our toes. Now we get to use our blog to keep you up to date on not only our crazy Navy life, but our very busy and sweet little men.